I’m sitting at my desk near the front of my chemistry classroom when I hear the PA crackle to life, “Good morning Skyline. This is Eleanor Wang with the morning announcements. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance.” I push my chair back and get to my feet without a second thought. I look around the classroom and everyone else is still seated, pencils still in hand, conversations still going on. I guess they’re giving it a second thought. I choose to ignore my peers’ choices and do what feels right to me. I begin to look around the perimeter of the classroom for a flag to direct my attention to, but find only inspirational learning posters and water stained tiles. I go on in saying the Pledge with no one else but the monotone student over the speakers. Did I miss something? Is it bad to say the Pledge of Allegiance nowadays? My face flushes as I rush through the last stanza of the Declaration. I say the last words, “liberty and justice for all”. What is the Pledge even referring to if it’s only me standing? John moves onto the school updates and I quickly drop myself back into my seat keeping my gaze locked on my unfinished stoichiometry problems, hopeful that no one can see the scarlet that my cheeks have become.
Up until high school, everyone stood. Bellwork paused. Pencils ceased to move. As one body we all rose as directed to say the Pledge before the flag like we had done every school morning since Kindergarten. But now it’s different. The Pledge isn’t something we all do. It’s an option you’re allowed to take or not, but I’ve never met another student who takes that same option as I.
Partaking in any endeavor big or small can be scary when you’re doing it alone. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do it at all. The influence of others should not be the sole impact of your choices. So even when I rise when no one else does, even when I can feel twenty pairs of eyes trained on the back of my head, even when my voice quavers and I struggle to get the words out, I still rise to Pledge my Allegiance to the Flag.
People have asked me why I rise, and still I tell them, “Because it’s the right thing to do.” I’m not willingly making myself a vulnerable spectacle for the heck of it. Not even because Eleanor asked with a please. The reason I continue to rise is simple. It’s this: I stand before the Flag for the millions of souls who have lost their lives fighting our country. Fighting for you. Fighting for me. Without them I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the liberties and freedoms that I am ever lucky to have. I possess opportunities that many young women across the globe could never even dream of, and I will not take for granted what I have nor the sacrifices that it took for me to be able to live like I do.
So no, I don’t stand for the Pledge because I’m radically patriotic and support all of our government’s choices. I don’t stand for the Pledge because I’m comfortable with the policies that our current national leader has put into place during his term. I stand because I’m proud of those that have come before me, and thankful for their sacrifices that have shaped the course of my life.
So yes, I will continue to rise for the Pledge when no one else does. I will stand and endure the stares as I recite the words in tandem with the overhead speaker. I invite you to ponder why it is that you stay seated. Is it because everyone else does? Or is it because the Declaration’s true meaning is clouded by current events and is stopping you from doing the right thing? Either way I will continue to rise before the Flag. I will continue to rise for my brothers and sisters who have fallen.
